Spring Exhibitions
I’m a little behind in my posts but as the saying goes, better late than never. One reason why I love this city so much is because of the museums and the art. It takes a real effort to keep up with all of the visiting exhibitions not to mention the permanent collections. That could very well take years of museum visits. So thankfully Macron won the election and now we are not fearful of getting kicked out of the country. The first photograph below is of the interior ceiling of the Petit Palais. There is a lot to write about this museum but to be concise, it was built in 1900 by Charles Girault for the Paris Expo. It sits directly across from the Grand Palais - both are within walking distance of where we live. I love the building and the collection which has pieces from Ancient Greece to the beginning of the 20th century. I recently saw two great exhibitions: Boldini and Albert Edelfelt.
Boldini - born in Italy in 1842 and spent most of his life in Paris. He traveled amongst the rich upper class and thus painted many portraits of wealthy women of the time.I really enjoy how he paints with movement. The dresses all seem to have a flowing sense and the women all exude an air of self confidence and beauty.
Albert Edelfelt - a Finnish artist of the late 19th century. He also spent most of his career living in Paris and he is probably best known for his portrait he did of Louis Pasteur for the 1886 salon. Fortunately, he regularly returned to his beloved Finland and painted the landscape and local farmers. Below are some samples of his work. The first painting in the second row shows how exquisityly he paints the light falling on the doctor’s jacket. As you can see, I was so enthralled by it I cut off the head of the doctor! The next painting is a watercolor which I found incredibly sweet not only for the subject matter but also for his technique with painting the light to create a soft and serene feeling. The paintings of the local Finnish people are strong and show how proud he was to be Finnish.
Musee Jacquemart-Andre- the photo above is of the museum which is a gorgeous mansion where Edouard Andre and his wife Nelie Jacquemart lived.Edouard was from a wealthy banking family and Nelie was a painter! They married in 1881 and spent their lives collecting art. Edouard had the money but Nelie had the eye and the brains to create and share the collection (despite a lawsuit from Edouards’ greedy family). All’s well that ends well.
Below are pictures from the exhibition at the museum - GALLEN KALLELA Mythes and Nature. Akseli Gallen-Kallela is another Finnish painter (1865-1931) The painter was trained in Helsinki, then in Paris in the Academie Julian and the Atelier Cormon. His works reflect the Finnish countryside and nature. I love the way he painted snow - unfortunately this platform doesn’t allow the viewer to click on an image to enlarge it but I wish it did so you could see the detail. I was also struck by his interpretation of Jesus as a woman (the fourth painting in the first row). Mythology and nature are major themes of his work. In 1894 he built a home/studio far from the city and all things of modern life. This deliberate move played a large role in defining his work with nature. The last photograph is of a random building in the same neighborhood as the museum. The wisteria was in full bloom and deserved to be shared.
